1-076 - Unpacking Heterogeneity in the Immigrant Paradox: Evidence from Canada, the US, and Greece

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

The immigrant paradox is a widely-cited epidemiological phenomenon documenting more favorable mental health and academic outcomes among immigrant youth compared to their non-immigrant peers, despite disproportionate exposure to social and economic adversity. While evidence supporting the paradox continues to accumulate, the extant literature suggests a mixture of risk and resilience. This symposium brings together evidence from 3 countries with distinct immigration and integration policies – Canada, the US and Greece –to identify methodological and substantive explanations that might be accounting for divergent patterns of group differences. The objectives of the first two papers, respectively, are to examine variability in the immigrant paradox as a function of: 1) mental health outcome, informant and migrant sub-groups in a Canadian sample, and 2) individual and contextual level experiences, namely fear of deportation, language-related discrimination, ethnic identity and SES in a US sample. The third paper, based on two unique longitudinal cohorts of middle school students in Greece before and during the economic crisis, compares baseline levels and changes in youths’ adaptation trajectories between immigrant and non-immigrant students. It is our goal that this panel and our collective discussion will help us gain a deeper appreciation of methodological and substantive micro- and macro- system influences that may shape the patterning of group differences. As this knowledge accumulates, we will be better positioned to make tailored, evidence-informed policy and program recommendations for providing necessary supports for immigrant youth most at risk and for facilitating the maintenance of positive development amongst those demonstrating resilience.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chair

• Katholiki Georgiades, McMaster University

Discussant

• Cynthia García Coll, University of Puerto Rico

Individual Presentations

• Mental Health Outcomes and Service Utilization Among Immigrant Youth in Canada - Presenting Author: Katholiki Georgiades, McMaster University; Non-Presenting Author: Steven Trung Hieu Ma, McMaster University; Non-Presenting Author: Irene Vitoroulis, McMaster University

• The Immigrant Paradox and American Youth: Are Certain Adolescents Able to Reap Greater Benefits? - Presenting Author: Aprile D. Benner, University of Texas at Austin; Non-Presenting Author: Farin Bakhtiari, University of Texas at Austin

• Adaptation Trajectories During a Great Economic Recession: A Cohort Study of Greek and Immigrant Youth - Presenting Author: Frosso Motti, University of Athens; Non-Presenting Author: Adriana Umaña-Taylor, Harvard University; Non-Presenting Author: Olga Kornienko, George Mason University; Non-Presenting Author: Jens Asendorpf, Humboldt University